Police have urged women who may have slept with an HIV carrier to come forward after he was jailed for recklessly passing on the virus to an unsuspecting lover.

Married Simon McClure, 38, from Middlesbrough, may have had sex with hundreds of women, including prostitutes, and was a frequent visitor to Thailand where he is thought to have been infected five years ago.

He was jailed for two years and eight months at Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday after he admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on his victim, with whom he had unprotected sex.

Outside the hearing, Detective Inspector Andy Greenwood, of Cleveland Police, said: "If anybody has any information in relation to McClure they should come forward.

"The possibility exists that he has had relationships with other people that we are not aware of and we would urge them to contact us immediately. He has now been sentenced to an appropriate period of custody, so they can come forward now and tell us about it and we can take the appropriate action."

McClure ignored clear advice from doctors after he was diagnosed that he should not have unprotected sex, the court heard.

His victim, identified in court only by her initials and who cannot be named for legal reasons, found out she was infected with HIV when she went for blood tests after later becoming pregnant. Her baby was born prematurely the next day. Tests have only recently shown that the infant has not been infected.

"I am sure you knew, everybody is aware, of the risks involved in having unprotected sex carrying HIV. Any form of intimate sexual relationship has a degree of mutual trust and you breached it by what you did. The effect on her has been devastating."

McClure, of Miniott Walk, Hemlington, was said to be extremely remorseful and expressed his regret through his barrister. He was a diagnosed with HIV in 2006 after returning from a trip to Thailand. He has also been to Switzerland, where he is thought to have used prostitutes.